Dodgers 5, Angels 3

LOS ANGELES (AP) Kevin Brown struck out eight in the final tuneup for what he hopes will be his first injury-free season since 1999, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Anaheim Angels 5-3 Friday night.

Brown gave up one run and six hits in 5 1-3 innings. He fanned Tim Salmon with the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate to end the fifth.

Brown went 2-1 with a 1.03 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 26 1-3 innings this spring and is scheduled to make his season debut Wednesday night at Arizona.

Brown, entering the fifth year of a $105 million, seven-year contract, totaled only 29 starts the last two seasons after averaging 32 starts over the previous 10 years. The 38-year-old right-hander, who underwent elbow surgery in Sept. 2001, has been on the disabled list six times since joining the Dodgers.

Eric Gagne earned his first save of the spring with a scoreless ninth.

It was the first exhibition game between the Angels and Dodgers since 1999 primarily because of disinterest caused by interleague play during the regular season.

But the Freeway Series, which began in 1962, is more of an attraction now because of Anaheim's World Series title last season which has eroded some of the stranglehold the Dodgers always had on Southern California fans.

``I don't worry about that. I commend them for the job that they did and they should be commended for that. They're the defending world champions, and that's the bottom line,'' said Dodgers manager Jim Tracy, whose team wasn't eliminated from the NL wild-card race until the final weekend of last season.

``I have a heck of a lot of respect for Mike Scioscia, as a manager and a person. But I'm the manager of this club, and we don't have to be ashamed of what we've done the last couple of years with players on the disabled list for a total of 600 days, and missing four-fifths of our rotation coming down the stretch last year. That's kind of a tough hand to be dealt.''

The Dodgers built a 4-0 lead against Ramon Ortiz, getting RBI singles in the second from Alex Cora, Brown and Dave Roberts. Shawn Green doubled home the fifth run in the fifth.

Salmon hit his second home run of the spring in the seventh off Wilson Alvarez. Bengie Molina drove in Anaheim's other runs with an RBI single and a groundout.

Ortiz allowed five runs, eight hits and six walks in 4 1-3 innings, finishing the spring 1-2 with a 2.59 ERA in six starts. He led the Angels' staff with 162 strikeouts last season and won 15 games despite allowing a major league-leading 40 home runs.

Ortiz, who allowed only one home run in 24 1-3 innings this spring, is scheduled to make his season debut Wednesday against Texas at Edison Field. He is 9-1 in 13 career starts against the Rangers.< ^Notes:@ Scioscia is one of eight former Dodgers players who have managed a team to a World Series title. The others were Tom Lasorda (Dodgers), Dick Williams (Athletics), Gil Hodges (Mets), Leo Durocher (Giants), Casey Stengel (Yankees), George Stallings (Braves) and Fielder Jones (White Sox). ... When Eddie Murray is inducted July 27, he will become the fourth Hall of Famer to have played for both the Dodgers and Angels. The others are Don Sutton, Hoyt Wilhelm and Frank Robinson.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)